Transcript Trouble in the Republic

What’s the Connection

 By the end of the Third Punic War, Rome ruled the Mediterranean
world…however, not all was well.
 Closer to home, the republic faced increasing dangers that would soon
lead to its end…
What’s the Connection

 Main Idea:
 The use of enslaved labor hurt farmers, increased poverty and corruption
and brought the army into politics.
What’s the Connection

 Poverty, corruption, unemployment, crime and violence are all problems we
face today in the United States.
What’s the Connection

What’s the Connection

 Lets see how the Romans struggled with these same issues 2,000 years ago.
Rich Vs. Poor

 Rome’s armies were victorious wherever they went…yet problems were building at home.
 Dishonest officials stole money, thousands of farmers faced ruins, cities were becoming
over crowded and dangerous and the gap between the rich and the poor was growing.
Rich Vs. Poor

 Remember who were the people that ruled Rome?
Rich Vs. Poor

 Patricians… rich people who owned land and large farms.
 These rich landowners ran the Senate and held the powerful government
jobs…they handled Rome’s finances and directed its wars.
Rich Vs. Poor

 Despite some gains for the Plebeians, many people became very angry
and frustrates about this situation.
Rich Vs. Poor

 Rome had few privileged citizens compared with the many Romans who
farmed small plots of land…
 In the late 100’s B.C.E. however these farmers were sinking into poverty
and debt…Why?
Rich Vs. Poor

 Many of them had been unable to farm there land because they were off
fighting Rome’s wars…this meant that they made no money.
 Others had suffered damage to their farms during Hannibal’s invasion of
Italy…remember he sacked the country side as he moved throughout Italy.
Rich Vs. Poor
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 Moreover, small farmers could not compete with wealthy Romans who
were buying up land to create Latifundia.
 Latifundia – were large farming estates…basically gigantic farms.
Rich Vs. Poor

 These rich landowners used a new source of labor…the thousands of prisoners brought
to Italy due to the many Roman wars.
 By using these enslaved people to tend their crops, wealthy Romans could force owners
of small farms out of business.
Rich Vs. Poor

 Faced with debts they could not pay off, many farmers sold their land and
headed to the cities, desperate for work.
 However, jobs were hard to find…slaves did most of the work.
Rich Vs. Poor

 If free men were lucky enough to be hired, they earned low wages…
 These conditions created widespread anger all across Rome.
Rich Vs. Poor

 Roman politicians were worried about riots breaking out, but they quickly turned the
situation to their advantage.
 To win the votes of the poor. They began providing cheap food and entertainment…this
policy was known as “Bread and Circuses” and helped dishonest rulers come to power.
Rich Vs. Poor

 Questions:
 1) Why were many farmers unable to take care of their own
farmland?
 2) What were Latifundia?
 3) What did Hannibal do to the Italian countryside and farmland as
he invaded Italy?
 4) What were “Bread and Circuses policy” in Rome?
Rich Vs. Poor

 Questions:
 1) Why were many farmers unable to take care of their own farmland?

Most were off fighting Rome’s wars.
 2) What were Latifundia?

Large farming estates.
 3) What did Hannibal do to the Italian countryside and farmland as he invaded Italy?

Sacked the Italian countryside and burned farms.
 4) What were “Bread and Circuses policy” in Rome?

Cheap food and entertainment for poor Romans.
Why did Reform Fail?
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 Not all wealthy people ignored the problems facing the Roman Republic.
 Two prominent officials who worked on reforms for these policies were
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus.
Why did Reform Fail?
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 These brothers thought that Rome’s problems were caused by the loss of small farms.
 They asked the Senate to take back public land from the rich and divide it among the
landless Romans.
Why did Reform Fail?
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 Many senators, however, were among those who had claimed pieces of the public land.
 Putting their own interest above the general welfare, these Senators fought the Gracchus
brothers and their proposals.
Why did Reform Fail?
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 A band of Senators even went as far as to kill Tiberius in 133 B.C.E. …twelve years later
his brother Gaius met the same fate.
 These were dark days for the Roman Republic, when the people who were in charge of
running the government and up holding the laws could so shockingly violate them.
Why did Reform Fail?
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 Tiberius had an unusual death…he was beaten to death with clubs and staves made
from benches and his body was thrown into the Tiber River
Why did Reform Fail?
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 Gaius Gracchus has one of the more interesting and gruesome deaths in Roman
history... he was killed in a riot he started, decapitated, and thrown into the Tiber River.
Why did Reform Fail?
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 The Gracchus brothers were working towards ending corruption in government, sadly
it did not work…this was the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic
Why did Reform Fail?
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 Questions:
 5) Who were Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus?
 6) What were they working to fix in the Roman government?
 7) What happened to Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus?
Why did Reform Fail?

 Questions:
 5) Who were Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus?
 Two brothers who asked for farmland to be returned to poor Roman
people.
 6) What were they working to fix in the Roman government?
 Corruption by the government.
 7) What happened to Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus?
 They were murdered and thrown into the Tiber River.
The Army Enters Politics
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 Matters only worsened as the Roman army took on a new role.
 Until now, the army had mostly stayed out of government affairs…things changed
however, when a military leader named Gaius Marius became Consul in 107 B.C.E.
The Army Enters Politics
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 Previously, most soldiers were owners of small farms.
 Now because this type of farmer was disappearing, Marius began to recruit
soldiers from the poor people of Rome.
The Army Enters Politics
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 In return for their military service, he paid them wages and
promised them the one thing they desperately wanted…land.
The Army Enters Politics
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 Marius changed the Roman army from citizen volunteers to paid professional
soldiers…these new troops were motivated by material rewards, rather then a sense of duty.
 They felt loyal to their general, not to the Roman Republic.
The Army Enters Politics
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 This gave individual generals a great deal of influence in government and
a good reason to become involved with politics.
 They needed to get laws passed that would provide land they had
promised their soldiers.
The Army Enters Politics
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 Marius’s new military system led to new power struggles and he soon came face to face with a
challenge from a rival general, a man named Sulla.
 In 82 B.C.E. Lucius Cornelius Sulla drove his enemies out of Rome and made himself dictator.
The Army Enters Politics
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 Dictator - A ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has
obtained power by force.
The Army Enters Politics
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 Over the next three years, Sulla changed the government…He weakened the Consul of
Plebs and strengthened the Senate.
 Then he stepped down from power…he had changed what he felt needed changing.
The Army Enters Politics
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 Sulla hoped that the Roman Republic could heal its wounds and recapture its glory.
 Instead, Rome plunged into an era of civil wars for the next 50 years.
The Army Enters Politics
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 Ambitious men saw how Sulla used an army to seize power and
decided to follow the same path.
The Army Enters Politics
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 Questions:
 7) Who was Giaus Marius?
 8) What change did Marius make to the Roman army?
 9) Who was Lucius Cornelius Sulla?
 10) Why did he step down as dictator?
The Army Enters Politics
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 Questions:
 7) Who was Giaus Marius?

A military leader who changed the Roman Army.
 8) What change did Marius make to the Roman army?

He paid his soldiers money and gave them land as payment.
 9) Who was Lucius Cornelius Sulla?

He paid his soldiers and gave them land as payment.
 10) Why did he step down as dictator?

He hoped Rome could heal its wounds and recapture glory.
Open Ended Response
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 Lets think back to the very beginning of this presentation where we
talked about “What's the Connection”.
 We have just seen how poverty, corruption, unemployment, crime
and violence were all major problems for the Romans.
 These are also major problems for the United States…
 I want you to think about how the Roman’s dealt with these issues
and in your own words and ideas I want you to think about how
the United States could fix these problems…
 Answers must be written in a paragraph or two.